THE BIOGRAPHY OF MAHOMET, AND RISE OF ISLAM.

CHAPTER TWELFTH.

The Battle of Badr.
Ramadhan, A.H. II. January, 624 A.D..

Great detail with which the biographers relate the campaign of Badr

WITH the battle of Badr opens a new era in
Islam. The Biographers of Mahomet have shown
their appreciation of the influence which it exercised
on his future fortunes, by the
disproportionate
space allotted to this chapter of their story. The
minutest circumstances, and most trifling details,
even to the names of those engaged, have been carefully
treasured up 1. From the vast mass of tradition thus rudely thrown together, it will be my
endeavour to draw forth all the important points,
and frame from them a consistent narrative.

Scouts sent by Mahomet for intelligence of Abu Sofian's approach

The caravan of Abu Sofian, which, on its passage
through the Hejaz, had escaped the pursuit of
Mahomet in the autumn, was now, after the lapse of
about three months, returning to Mecca. Mahomet
was resolved that it should not this time elude

1 A glance at the printed edition of Wackidi's Campaigns,
referred to above, will show this. No less than 161 pages are
allotted to the campaign. The only other battle which approaches
it in interest is that of Ohod, to which 128 pages are devoted.

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his grasp. ;Iii the beginning of January, 624 A.D.
he despatched two scouts to Haura, on the sea-shore
west of Medina 2, to bring early intelligence of the
approach of Abu Sofian. They were hospitably
lodged and concealed by an aged chief of the Joheina
tribe, whose family was rewarded for this service by
the grant of Yenbo. No sooner did the caravan appear
than they hastened back to apprise Mahomet.

The Prophet had not yet learned to mask his projected
campaigns. His intention of attacking the
caravan was noised abroad. The rumour reached
Abu Sofian while yet on the confines of Syria. He
was warned, perhaps by the treachery of some disaffected
citizen, to be on his guard, as Mahomet had
entered into confederacy with the tribes by the way
to surprise the caravan. The party was greatly
alarmed Abu Sofian forthwith despatched to Mecca
a messenger, named Dhamdham, to bid the Coreish
hasten with an army to his rescue. The caravan
then moved rapidly, yet with caution, along the
route which lay closest to the shore of the Red Sea.

Mahomet gives command for the campaign

Mahomet, becoming impatient, and apprehensive
lest the caravan should, as on previous occasions, be
beforehand with him, resolved not to wait for the
return of his spies. So he called upon his followers
at once to make ready: - "Here," said he, "is a

2 The spot is called Nakhbar, beyond Dzul Marwa, and the
caravan could not avoid passing it. Dzul Marwa is three days'
journey from Medina, on the Syrian track. The scouts were
Talha and Said ibn Zeid, both Refugees.

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caravan of the Coreish in which they have embarked
much wealth. Come! perchance the Lord will
enrich you with the same." The love of booty
and of adventure, so passionate in the Arab, induced
not only all the Refugees, but a large body
of the citizens also, to respond with alacrity to his
call 3. Of the former, Othman alone remained behind

3 The biographers are inconsistent in the double motive they
assign to those who went to Badr. They unanimously reiterate
that the smallness of Mahomet's army was caused by its going
forth solely in the hope or surprising the caravan, and obtaining
plunder, and that the people did not anticipate a battle. On
Mahomet's return from Badr, the Moslem citizens come forward
with this just excuse, and it was accepted. Nothing is more
clear than that neither Mahomet nor his followers expected the
advance of an army from Mecca.

On the other hand, tradition exhibits the utmost anxiety and
rivalry as pervading all ranks to set out on the expedition, with
the view of sharing in its merit, and meeting the chance of Martyrdom. Thus Sad, one of the leaders, is represented to have cast
lots with Khaithama, his father, which should accompany the
army (as one of them had to stay behind with the family); saying,
"Had anything else than Paradise been at stake,! should have
given way to thee; but now verily I hope for martyrdom in
this expedition." The lot fell upon him, and he went forth and
was slain at Badr. Wackidi, 12. So likewise Omeir, a boy of
sixteen years, tried to hide from Mahomet when reviewing his
force at the first stage, as he dreaded that he would be sent back
on acconnt of his youth : --- "I fear," said he, weeping, "that I
shall
be noticed, and rejected: but truly I yearn to go, that the Lord
may grant to me the reward of Paradise." He too was killed.
Wackidi 14; K. Wackidi; 275. These stories are evidently
apocryphal, cast in the mould which became universal in later
days, and blindly applied by a glaring anachronism to the present
occasion.

Similar is the tradition that Sad ibn Obada was so occupied
in stirring up the people of Medina to go forth, that he himself

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hind to tend the sick bed of Rockeya, the Prophet's
daughter.

and marches from Medina

(January, 8th 623 A.D.) On Sunday, the 12th of Ramadhan 4,

was left behind, and that his claim was on this account warranted
to a share in the booty. Wackidi, 110.

The true motive which prompted most of Mahomet's followers
to accompany the force, and which tempted many to join Islam,
is well illustrated by the following anecdote, which bears the
stamp at least of verisimilitude. Two citizens of Medina, still
heathens, were noticed by Mahomet among the troops. He called
them near his camel, and asked them what had brought them
there. "Thou art our kinsman," they replied, "to whom our city
hath given protection; and we go forth with our people in the
hope
of plunder." "None shall go forth with me," said Mahomet, "but
he who is of our Faith." They tried to pass, saying, that they
were great warriors, and would fight bravely by his side, requiring
nothing beyond their share of the plunder; but Mahomet
was firm. "Ye shall not go thus. Believe, and then fight!"
Seeing no alternative they "believed," and confessed that Mahomet
was the Prophet of God. Rejoiced at their conversion,
Mahomet said, - "Now go forth and fight!" Then they accompanied
the army, and became noted spoilers both at Badr and
in other expeditions. Wackidi, 40. So also on Mahomet's return
to Medina, Abdallah ibn Nabtal exclaimed, - "Would that I
had gone forth with the Prophet! Then I had surely secured
large booty!"

Eight persons who remained behind are popularly counted in
the number of the veterans of Badr - the nobility of Islam; three
Refugees, viz. Othman and the two spies; and five citizens, viz.
the two left in command of Upper and Lower Medina, a man
sent back with a message to the Bani Amr, and two men, who
having received a hurt at Rooha, were left behind. The names
of the famous Three hundred and fire were recorded in a Register
at Medina, called Sadr al Kitab. Wackidi, 153.

4 M. C. de Perceval says, on the eighth, that is, nine days before
the battle; but for this I find no good authority. The action,
according to most authorities, took place on the 17th Ramadhan,
and on a Friday. According to M. C. de Perceval's calculations,

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Mahomet set out upon his march, leaving Abu
Lubaba, one of the citizens, in charge of Medina.
For some special reason not fully explained, he
appointed another of his followers over Coba and
Upper Medina 5. At a short distance from the city
on the Meccan road, he halted to review his little
army, and to send back the striplings unfit for
action. The number that remained, and with which
he proceeded onwards, was three hundred and five.
Of these, eighty were Refugees; of the remainder,
about one fourth belonged to the Bani Aus, and
the rest to the Bani Khazraj. They had but two
horses; and there were seventy camels, on which
by turns they mounted 6.

the 17th fell on Saturday the 14th January; he accordingly
alters the date of the battle to the 16th Ramadhan. I prefer
adhering to the general testimony of tradition, and therefore to
the 17th; the difference being accounted for by some variation in the day on wlaich the new moon was seen at Medina.
Tabari gives as other dates the 19th and 21st Ramadhan; but in
regard to the 17th, he adds, that it was so notoriously the day
of Badr that even the women, who kept to their houses, knew
it.- p. 246. There are traditions, but not trustworthy ones, for
Monday. K. Wackidi, 102 ½. None that I have met with, for
Saturday.

5
It is said that he did ibis because " he heard something"
regarding the Bani Amr ibn Auf. He also sent back Al Harith
from his camp with a message to the same tribe. K. Wackidi
99 ½, 271. The two persons left in charge, as well as this messenger, all belonged to the Bani Aus.

6 There is considerable variation as to the exact number; Ibn
Ishac makes it 314, or, if we deduct the eight absentees who had
the merit of being present, 306. Abu Mashar and Wackidi give
313, or, actually present, 305. Wackidi gives the Refugees at 85

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Spies sent forward by Mahomet to Badr

For two days they travelled by the road to
Mecca. At Safra, thirty-four hours' journey from
Medina, the road branches in two directions; the
left branch leads to Mecca, falling, after about two
days' march, into the caravan track by the sea-shore;
the branch to the right runs westward in the direction
of Yenbo, and at the distance of about fifteen
hours' journey, also meets the great Syrian road,
but much farther to the north. The latter point of
junction is at Badr, a halting-place at the present
day on the pilgrim route from Syria to Mecca. It
was used for the same purpose by the caravans
from the earliest times, and a fair was also held
there. Before reaching Safra, Mahomet despatched
two spies to find out whether any preparations
were making for the reception of Abu Sofian at
Badr 7 ; for it was there that he hoped to waylay the
caravan. At the fountain of Badr, the spies overheard

(but in another place at only 74); Ibn Ishac, at 88; of these,
three (as explained above) were absent. Ibn Ishac calculates the
Awsites at 61, and the Karrajites at 170, five of both being
absent. Wackidi and Musa ibn Ocba make the Awsites 63;
and the former gives the Kazrajites at 175, which would swell
the total to 828. These are the most reliable calculations.
K. Wackidi, 99 ½, 262 ½, 275, 295 ½; Wackidi, 96; Hishami 245;
Tabari, 821.

7 This was probably on the Monday. It is somew$at difficult
to find time for all the events that crowd in between Sunday and
Thursday evening. The names of the spies were Basbas and Adi,
both allied to Medina clans, and more likely than any of the
Refugees to be acquainted with this vicinity. For the position of
Badr, see Burckhardt, 405, 456.

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heard some women who had come to draw water
talking among themselves "of the caravan that was
expected on the morrow or the day after," and they
returned in haste with the intelligence to 'Mahomet.

As Abu Sofian approached Badr, his apprehensions
were quickened by the vicinity of Medina,
and hastening in advance of the caravan, he resolved
himself to reconnoitre the spot. At Badr,
he was told that no strangers had been seen, excepting
two men, who, after resting their camels for
a little by the well, and drinking water, went off
again. Proceeding to the spot, he carefully scrutinized
it all around. "Camels from Yathreb!" he
exclaimed, as among the litter his practised eye discerned
the date-stone peculiar to Medina. "These
are the spies of Mahomet!8' So saying, he
hurried back to the caravan; and forthwith diverting its course to the fight, so as to keep close by
the sea-shore, pressed forward day and night without halting, and was soon beyond the reach of
danger. Then hearing that an army of the Coreish
had marched from Mecca to his aid, he sent for-
ward a courier to say that all was safe, and that
they should now return to their homes.

Alarm at Mecca. The Coreish resolve to march to the rescue of the caravan

Ten or twelve days before this, Mecca had been
thrown into a state of great alarm by the sudden
appearance of Dhamdham, the first messenger of
Abu Sofian. Urging his camel at its full speed

8 The date-stones were searched out by him from the dung of
the camels.

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along the valley and main street of Mecca, he made
it kneel down in the open space before the Kaaba,
and hastily reversed the saddle, cut off its ears and
nose, and rent his shirt before and behind. Having
signified by these acts the alarming import of his
mission, he cried at' the pitch of his voice to the
people who began to crowd around: "Coreish!
Coreish! your caravan is pursued by Mahomet.
Help! O Help!" Immediately, the city was in
commotion; for the caravan was the great annual
one to Syria, in which every Coreishite of any substance
bad a venture 9. It was at once determined
to march in great force, repel the marauding troops,
and rescue the caravan. "Doth Mahomet, indeed,
imagine," said they among themselves, "that it will,
be this time as in the affair of the Hadhramite!" alluding to the treacherous surprise at Nakhla, where,
two months before, Amr the Hadhramite had been
slain. "Never! He shall know it to be otherwise."

They set out, and reach Johfa, where they are met by Abu Sofian's messenger

Preparations were hurried forward on every
side. The resolve, at any sacrifice, to chastise the
audacity, and crush the hostility, of the Moslems
was universal. Every man of consequence prepared
to join the army. A few, unable themselves to
go, sent substitutes; among these was Abu Lahab,

9Wackidi, 21. The value was estimated at 50,000 dinars.
The amount of capital invested by Borne of the chief families is
mentioned. Of one family it is said that it was "their caravan
year, which may imply that there were periodical times at which
a family made special efforts in the traffic.

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the uncle of Mahomet 10. One fear there was that
Mecca might, during their absence, be surprised by
the Bani Bakr, an adjacent tribe, with which there
was a present feud. But this was obviated by the
guarantee of a powerful chief allied to both tribes 11.
So great was the alacrity, that in two or three days
after the alarm by Dhamdham the army was in
motion. It marched in haste, but not without some
display of rude pomp; for singing women, with
their tabrets, followed and sang by the fountains
at which they halted 12. At Johfa, the second
courier of Abu Sofian (who himself shortly after,
with the caravan, passed by a route closer to the

10 Some say that he neither went nor sent a substitute; others,
that he sent Aas, grandson of Mughira, in consideration of the
remission of a debt of 400 dirhems. It is said that he refused
to accompany the army in consequence of the dream of his sister
Atika.

I have omitted any allusion to this dream, as well as to other
dreams and prodigies seen by the Coreish, anticipatory of the
disasters at Badr, because I believe them all to be fictitious.
The tinge of honor in after days reflected back on the "sacrilegious" battle, the anxiety to excuse certain families, and the
wish to invest others with a species of merit, as having served
Islam by dreams or prophecies, combined to give rise to them.

11 Or rather, as some traditions will have it, by the guarantee
of the Devil himself, in the form of Suraca ibn Jusham, the
Mudlijite. Wackidi, 31. The Devil is repeatedly represented in the
form of this man, as we shall see below. We have already met
Suraca, vol. ii.268.

It Is the Bani Bakr, descended from Kinana, not the Bani Bakr
of the desert, that are here spoken of. See Table, vol. i. p.
cxcv.

12 The names of three of these women are given by Wackidi,
pp 32 and 37.

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sea) arrived with intelligence of his safety, and the
message that they were to return 13.

They debate whether to return or go forward

The question of going forward or of turning back
was warmly debated by the leading chiefs. On the
one hand, it was argued that the object for which
they had set out having been secured, the army
should at once retrace its steps; that the forces of
Mahomet were closely related to themselves: -

When we have fought and spilled the blood of
our brethren and our kinsmen," said this party, "of
what use will life be to us any longer? Let us
now go back, and we will be responsible for the
blood-money of Amr, killed at Nakhla 14." Others,

13 I take this to have been on Wednesday, 11th January The
sequence of events is probably as follows - Mahomet started on
Sunday morning: on Monday he despatched his scouts to Badr:
on Tuesday they reached Badr, and returned: On Tuesday,
after them, Abu Sofian arrived at Badr: on Tuesday night he
passed the threatened region safely; and on Wednesday sent his
messenger to the Coreish camp at Johfa, two marches from Badr.
The Coreish marched forward on Wednesday, and on Thursday
evening encamped near Badr. The stages of the Coreish are given
as follows : - 1. Marr al Tzahran. 2. Osfan. 3. Kudeid. 4--.
5. Johfa. 6. Abwa. 7-----. 8-----. 9. Badr. Wackidi 140.
But the gaps, for which no names are given, are probably
apocryphal, and inserted for the purpose of swelling out the
number of the chiefs who each fed the army with camels at one of
the stages. The Coreish, I suppose, left Mecca about the same
time that Mahomet started from Medina, perhaps a day or two before
him. They travelled, for the first part at least, by forced
marches, to save the caravan. They sent a messenger to Abu Sofian, as
they started from Mecca, to apprise him of their march, but he
missed the caravan, which kept close by the shore.

14 Hakim ibn Hizam, the nephew of Khadija (who supplied
food to Mahomet and his party when shut up with Abu Talib)
is mentioned as urgent in offering this advice.

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and Abu Jahi at their head, demanded that the
army should advance. "If we turn back now
they said, " it will surely be imputed to our cowardice.

And resolve to advance to Badr.

Let us go forward to Badr; and there,
by the fountain, spend three days eating and making
merry. All Arabia will hear of it, and will ever
after stand in awe of us." The affair of Nakhla,
and the slaughter of the Hadhramite, still rankled
in the heart of the Coreish, and they listened willingly to the warlike counsel. Two tribes alone,
the Bani. Zohra and Adi, returned to Mecca 15.
The rest marched onwards 16. Leaving the Medina
branch to the right, they kept along the Syrian
road, and made straight for Badr.

Mahomet receives intelligence of march of the Coreish army

We now return to Mahomet. He, too, was advancing rapidly on Badr; for there he
expected, from the report of his spies, to find the caravan.
On Tuesday night, he reached Rooha; as he drank

15 The reason is not given; the former was the tribe of
Mahomet's mother; the latter, that of Omar.

16 They, however, sent back the singing girls. The messenger,
who carried the intelligence to Abu Sofian, that the Coreish
refused to turn back, reached him at Al Hadda, near Mecca; and
Abu Sofian is represented as lamenting over the folly of his countrymen.
All this seems to be apocryphal. Till viewed in the light
of its disastrous issue, the advance on Badr must have appeared
a politic and reasonable measure. It was not an attack on Medina,
for Badr was on the road to Syria, and left Medina far on the
right. If they met the Medina forces there, it was because the
latter had come forth gratuitously to attack the Meccan caravan,
a fair and sufficient casus belli; for what security could the
Meccans have if the men of Medina were allowed thus with impunity to attack their convoys and plunder their caravans?

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from the well there, he blessed the valley in terms
of which the pious traveller is reminded to the
present day 17. On Thursday, while he was yet at a
distance from Badr, intelligence was received from
some travellers that the enemy was in full march
upon him. This was the first intimation to the
Moslems that the Meccans had heard of the danger
of the caravan, and were on their way to defend
it. A council of war was summoned, and Mahomet
invited his chief men to offer their advice.

In a council of war and onward march enthusiastically determined on

There
was but one opinion, and each delivered it more enthusiastically than another. Abu Bakr and Omar advised an immediate advance. The Prophet then
turned to the men of Medina, for their pledge did
not require them to fight away from their city. Sad
ibn Muadz, their spokesman, replied: "Prophet of
the Lord! march whither thou listest: encamp
wherever thou mayest choose: make war or con-
dude peace with whom thou wilt. For I swear by
him who hast sent thee with the Truth, that if thou
wert to march till our camels fell down dead 18, we
should go forward with thee to the world's end.
Not one of us would be left behind."19 Then said
Mahomet: "Go forward, with the blessing of God!
For, verily, he hath promised one of the two--the
army or the caravan,--that he will deliver it into

17Wackidi 40; Burton, ii. 17.

18 Lit. "break their livers" (by marching).

19K.Wackidi, 100, 102 ½; more extended in Wackidi, 44.

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my hands 20. Methinks, by the Lord, I even now see
the battle-field strewn, as it were, with their dead."21

The Moslems more implacable than the Coreish

It is remarkable, in comparing this council with
that of the Coreish at Johfa, to observe how entirely absent from the minds of the Mussulmans was
any trace of compunction at the prospect of entering into mortal combat with their kinsmen. The
Coreish, goaded as they were by the repeated attack
of their caravans, and the blood shed at Nakhla, were
yet staggered by the prospect, and nearly persuaded
by their better feelings to return to Mecca. The
Moslems, though the aggressors, were hardened by
the memory of former injuries, by the maxim that
their faith severed all earthly ties without the
circle of Islam, and by a fierce fanaticism for their
Prophet's cause. At one of the stages, where he
halted to lead the public devotions, Mahomet, after

20 This point is alluded to in the Coran, which henceforth
becomes the vehicle of many of Mahomet's "general orders" as
military commander. "And when the Lord promised one of the
two parties that it should be given over unto you; and ye desired
that it should be the party unarmed for war (i.e. that ye should
fall upon the caravan, and not the Coreishite army), whereas the
Lord willed to establish the Truth by his words, and to cut away
the foundation from the Unbelievers ; --- that he might establish
the
Truth, and abolish Falsehood, even although the Transgressors be
averse thereto." Sura, viii. 7.

21 The letter clause may be apocryphal. In later traditions it
is worked out to a fabulous extent. Mahomet, for example, is
made to point out from this vision what was to be the death spot
of
each of his chief opponents; "and" it is added, "the people were
by this apprised for the first time that it was the Coreishite
army
they were about to encounter, and not the caravan." Wackidi, 45.

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rising from his knees, thus called down the curse or
God upon the infidels, and prayed: "O Lord!
Let not Abu Jahl escape, the Pharaoh of his
people! Lord, let not Zamaa escape ; rather let
the eyen of his father run sore for him with
weeping, and become blind !"22 The Prophet's hate
was unrelenting, and his followers imbibed from
him the same inexorable spirit.

Mahomet learns from the Coreish water-carriers the proximity and strength of the enemy

In the afternoon of Thursday, on reaching the
neighbourhood of Badr, Mahomet sent forward Ali,
with a few others, to reconnoitre the rising ground
about the springs. There they surprised the water-carriers
of the Coreish, as they were about to fill
their sheepskins. One escaped to the Coreish; the
rest were captured. The chiefs questioned them
about the caravan, imagining that they belonged to
it; and receiving no satisfactory answer, had begun
to beat them, when Mahomet interfered, and soon
discovered the proximity of his enemy. The camp,
they replied, to his earnest inquiries, lay just beyond
the sand-hills, which they pointed to as skirting
the south-western side of the valley. As they could
not tell the strength of the force, the Prophet asked
sagaciously how many camels they slaughtered for
their daily food. " Nine," they answered, "one
day, and ten the next day, alternately." "Then,"

22Wackidi p.89 ; - where Suheil is included in the prayer; he was taken prisoner. As regards Zamaa, however, some say
that he was among those whom Mahomet desired not to be
harmed.

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said Mahomet, "they are between 900 and 1,000
strong." The estimate was correct. There were
950 men. They were mounted on 700 camels and
100 horses 23.

The escape of the caravan a benefit to Mahomet

The followers of Mahomet, and perhaps Mahomet
himself, were deeply chagrined at finding their expectation
of an easy prey thus changed into the
prospeet of a bloody battle. They seem, however,
to have advanced even to the field of action with
the hope that, if conquerors, they might still pursue
and seize the caravan. But it was, in truth, a
fortunate event for Mahomet that Abu Sofian had
already passed. The continuing jeopardy of the
caravan would have bound the Coreish together by
a unity and determination, which the knowledge of
its safety dissipated. The prize of victory in the
field of Badr was of incomparably greater consequence
to Mahomet than any spoil, however costly.

Mahomet takes up a position at Badr

The valley of Badr consists of a plain, with steep
hills to the north and east; on the south is a low
rocky range; and on the west rise a succession of
sandy hillocks. A rivulet, rising in the inland
mountains, runs through the valley, producing a
number of springs, which here and there were dug
into cisterns for the accommodation of travellers.
At the nearest of these springs, the army of Mahomet halted. Hobab, a follower, from Medina,

23 K. Wackidi, 100; Wackidi, 82. The horsemen were all clad in mail.

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advised him to proceed onwards: "Let us go,"
he said, "to the farthest spring on the side of the
enemy. I know a never-failing fountain of sweet
water there; let us make that our reservoir, and
destroy the other wells." The advise was good.
It was at once adopted, and the command of
the water thus secured.

He sleeps in a hut of palm branches

The night was drawing on. So they hastily constructed, near the well, a hut of palm branches, in branches.
which Mahomet and Abu Bakr slept. Sad ibn
Muadz kept watch by the entrance with his drawn
sword. It rained during the night, but more
heavily towards the camp of the Coreish.24 The
Moslem army, wearied with its long march, enjoyed
sound and refreshing sleep. The dreams of Mahomet turned upon his enemies, and they were
pictured to his imagination as a weak and contemptible force 25.
In the morning, he drew up his little army himself,

24 The rain is thus alluded to in the Coran --- "When he over-shadowed you with a deep sleep, as a security, from himself; and
caused to descend upon you Rain from the heavens, that he might
purify you therewith, and take from you the uncleanness of
Satan; and that he might strengthen your hearts, and establish
your steps thereby." Sura, viii. v.11. As a foil to this picture,
the Coreish are represented as apprehensive and restless till
morning broke. Wackidi 50.

25 And when God caused them to appear before thee in thy
sleep, few in number; and if he had caused them to appear unto
thee a great multitude, ye would have been affrighted, and have
disputed in the matter (of their attack). But truly God preserved thee, for he knoweth the heart of man." Sura, viii. 45.

and pointing with an arrow which he held in
his hand, arranged the ranks. The previous day,
he had placed the chief banner,--- that of the Refugees -
in the hands of Musab, who nobly proved his
right to the distinction. The Khazrajite ensign was
committed to Hobab; that of the Bani Aus, to Sad
ibn Muadz 26.

The Coreish, after further dissensions, draw up their line, and move forward

Meanwhile dissensions again sprang up in the
camp of the Coreish on the policy of fighting
against their kinsmen. Shaiba and Otba, two
chiefs of rank, the sons of Rabia, strongly urged
that the attack should be abandoned 27. Just then,
Omeir, a diviner by arrows, after riding hastily

26 Borne say that Abu Bakr commanded the right of the Moslem
army; but Wackidi decides (p.53) that no one was specifically
placed in command of the right or left of either army.

27 At this, and similar points, the biographers cast the chief
blame on Abn Jahi; but the evident colouring of the picture,
and coarse terms of abuse applied to him, show evidently that the
work of fabrication has been busy here. Abu Jabl was a convenient scapegoat, on whom it was impossible to cast too much
guilt and blame. See Canon, I. G. vol. i. p. lviii. On the other
hand, there were families anxious to free their ancestors or
patrons
as much as possible from the responsibility of the impious
advance on Badr; and this tendency has no doubt overcoloured
the exertions of those who are represented as persuading the
army to turn back. Hakim iba Hizam, who escaped, and
was converted, is himself an actor in this scene; and the endeavour to exculpate him is evident in the speeches ascribed to him,
-perhaps even framed by himself in after days. It is curious
to find again Addas, the slave of Shaiba and Otba (vol. ii. 201)
among these scenes, entreating his masters, with tears in his
eyes,
to return to Mecca. Some say he accompanied them to the battle,
and was there slain; others, that he returned to Mecca with the
shattered remains of the army. Wacidi, 27-29.

page 99

round the valley, returned to report the result of
his reconnaissance. "Ye Coreish," he said, after
telling them his estimate of the enemy's number,
"calamities approach you, fraught with destruction.
Inevitable death rideth upon the camels of Yathrab.
It is a people that hath neither defence nor refuge
but in their swords. See ye not that they are
dumb and do not speak? Their tongues they put
forth with the deadly aim of a serpent. Not a
man of them shall we kill but one of ourselves
will be slain also; and when there shall have
been slaughtered amongst us a number equal unto
them, of what avail will life be to us after that!"28
These words began to produce a pacific effect, when
Abu Jahl, as before, loudly opposed the proposals
for peace 29. Turning to Amir the Hadhramite, he
bade him call to mind the blood of his brother

28K. Wackidi, 100 ½ ; Wackidi, 57. Omeir survived, and repeated the tale of these events before the Caliph Omar. He
went on to confess how immediately after the scene above described, he had stirred up the army to go forth to the fight:

"And we were disgraced that day; but the Lord at last brought
Islam unto us, and guided us thereto. That was the worst piece
of infidelity I ever committed." " Thou speakest the truth,"
replied Omar. Wackidi, 60.

Some of the biographers, evidently appreciating the motives
of the Coreish in their repugnance to carry arms against their
brethren, have clumsily manufactured a scene, in which Mahomet
Is represented as sending Omar to the Coreish to persuade them
to go back. Wackidi, 56. But the passage is corrupted.

29 See the previous note, in which I have referred to the strong
bias
against Abu Jahl, &c. It is almost impossible at many points to
disentangle fact from fiction, owing its origin to motives of this
nature.

page 100

slain at Nakhla. The flame was rekindled. Amir
threw off his clothes, cast dust upon his body, and
began frantically to cry aloud his brother's name.
The deceased had been a confederate of the family
of Shaiba and Otba. Their pride and honour were
affected. They saw that thoughts of peace must
now be scattered to the winds; and they resolved
signally to vindicate themselves from the imputation
of cowardice cast on them by Abu Jahl. The
army was now drawn up in line. The three standards for its centre and wings were borne by
members of the house of Abdal Dar, which was
entitled to the privilege 30. They moved slowly over
the intervening sand-hills, which the rain had made
heavy and fatiguing. The same cause had rendered
the ground in front of Mahomet lighter and more
firm to walk upon. The Meccan army laboured
under another disadvantage in having the rising
sun before them; while the army of Medina faced
towards the west.

Mahomet awaits their approach in anxiety. His earnest prayer.

Mahomet had barely arrayed his line of battle,
when the advanced column of the Coreish appeared
over the rising sands in front. Their greatly superior numbers were concealed by the fall of the
ground behind; and this imparted confidence to the

30 Vol. i. introduction, pp. cciv. and ccxlvii. note. Some traditions assign the command of the centre and of the two wings to
certain chiefs, but Wackidi (see above, p. 98) discredits the
tradition. Zamaa is said to have commanded the horse; but
others say Harith ibn Hisham. Wackidi, 53.

page 101

Moslems 31. But Mahomet was fully alive to the
critical position of his affairs at that moment. The
fate of Islam hung upon the issue of the approaching battle. Followed by Abu Bakr, he entered
the little hut, and raising his hands, poured forth
these earnest petitions: "O Lord! I beseech
thee, forget not Thy promise of assistance and of
victory. O Lord! if this little band be vanquished,

31 This is represented in the Coran as the result of divine inter-
position. After mentioning Mahomet's dream (see above, p.97)
of the small number of the enemy, the passage (now speaking or
the Moslem army at large) proceeds: "And when he caused them
to appear in your eyes, at the time ye met, to be few in number,
and diminished you in their eyes, that God might accomplish the
thing that was to be." Sura, viii. 46.-i.e. by this ocular deception, the Mussulmans were encouraged to advance to victory, and
the Coreish similarly lured on to their fate. So again:-" When
ye were on the hither side, and they on the farther side (of the
valley), and the caravan below you;* and if ye had made a
mutual appointment to fight, ye would surely have declined the
appointment; but (the Lord ordered otherwise) that he might
bring to pass the thing that was to be; - that he who perisheth
might perish by a manifest interposition, and he that liveth might
Jive by' a manifest interposition." Sura, ii. 42-44. - alluding to
the fact that each army advanced near to the field of battle,
without knowing of the approach of the other; they were led on by
an unseen hand.

In a later passage, the interposition of God at this battle is
stated as doubling the army of Medina in the eyes of the Coreish.
Sura, iii. 18. The discrepancy is thus explained by the commentators - The Coreish were at first drawn on by fancying
Mahomet's army to be a mere handful; when they had actually
closed in battle, they were terrified by their exaggerated appearance, for they now seemed a great multitude.

* i.e. on the plain, by the sea-shore, passing on towards Mecca.

page 102

Idolatry will prevail, and the pure worship
of Thee cease from off the earth!"32 "The Lord;"
said Abu Bakr, comforting him, "will surely come
to thine aid, and will lighten thy countenance with
the joy of victory."

Fierce combat by the reservoir

The time for action had arrived. Mahomet again came forth. The enemy was close; but the army of Medina moved not. The Prophet had strictly forbidden his followers to stir, till he should give the order for advance; only they were to check any flank movement of the Coreish by the discharge of arrows. The cistern was guarded as their palladium. Certain desperate warriors of the Coreish had sworn to drink water from it, to destroy it, or to perish in the attempt. Scarcely one of them returned from the rash enterprise 33. With signal gallantry, Aswad advanced close to the brink,

Other prayers are given; but if there was any of this nature
at all (which I wilt not vouch for), the one in the text is that
most suitable to the anxiety and trepidation of the hour. Some
traditions make this the moment when a sleet) or trance overcame
Mahomet, and God showed him the enemy few in number. See
above.

A set speech addressed by Mahomet to the troops, after he
had drawn them up, is given by some biographers, but it is evidently apocryphal.

33 Hakim ibn Hizam is said to have been the only one that
tasted of the water, and escaped. He used to relate that he had
been vouchsafed two signal deliverances: first, he was one of
those

page 103

when a blow from Hamza's sword fell upon his leg
and nearly severed it from his body. Still defending himself; he crawled onwards and made good
his vow; for he drank of the water, and with his
remaining leg demolished a part of' the cistern,
before the sword of Hamza put an end to his life.

Three Coreish challenge the Moslems to single combat

Already, after the fashion of Arabian warfare,
single combats had been fought at various points,
when the two brothers Shaiba and Otba, and Walid
the son of Otba, still smarting from the words of
Abu Jahl, advanced into the space between the
armies, and defied three champions from the army
of Mahomet to meet them singly. Three citizens of
Medina stepped forward 34; but Mahomet, unwilling
that the glory or the burden of the opening conflict
should rest with his allies, called them back; and,
turning to his kinsmen, said: "Ye sons of Hashimi
arise and fight, according to your right." Then
Hamza, Ali, and Obeida 35, the uncle and cousins of
the Prophet, went forth. Hamza wore an ostrich
feather in his breast, and a white plume distinguished the helmet of Ali 36. But their features

who lay in wait at Mahomet's house, before his flight from Mecca;
second, he was one of those who drank of the cistern or Badr.
And he was the only one, he said, of either party that survived
to embrace Islam. Wackidi, 75.

34 Two of them were the sons of Afra. There is a discrepancy
as to the third.

were hid by their armour. Otba, therefore, not
knowing who his opponents might be, cried aloud:
"Speak, that we may recognize you! If ye be
equals, we shall fight with you." Hamza answered,
"I am the son of Abdal Muttalib --- Hamza, the
Lion of God, and the Lion of his Prophet." "A
worthy foe;" exclaimed Otba; "but who are the
others with thee?" Hamza repeated their names;
and Otba replied: "Meet foes every one!"

The Coreishite champions slain

Then Otba called to his son Walid, "Arise and
fight." So Walid stepped forth; and Ali came
out against him. They were the youngest of the
six. The combat was short; Walid fell, mortally
wounded, by the sword of Ali. Eager to avenge
his son's death, Otba hastened forward, and Hamza
advanced to meet him. As previously, the swords
gleamed quick, and Otba was slain by the Moslem
Lion. Shaiba alone remained of the champions of
Mecca, and Obeida now drew near to fight with
him. They were both advanced in years, and the
conflict was less decisive than before 37. At last,
Shaiba dealt a sword-cut on the leg of Obeida with
such force as to sever the tendon, and bring him
to the ground. Seeing this, Hamza and Ali rushed
on Shaiba and despatched him. Obeida lingered
for a few days, and was buried at Safra 38.

37 Obeida was the oldest of all Mahomet's followers at the time.
He was ten years older than the prophet, or about 65. Shaiba
was three years older than Otba.

38 According to another tradition, Hamza fights with Shaiba,

page 105

The lines close

The fate of their champions was ominous for the
Coreish, and their spirits sank. The ranks began
to close, with the battle-cry on the Moslem side of
Ya Mansur Amit, "Ye conquerors, strike!"39 and
the fighting became general. But there were still
many of those scenes of individual bravery which
characterize the irregular warfare of Asiatic armies,
and often impart a Homeric interest. Prodigies of
valour were exhibited on both sides; but the army
of the Faithful was borne forward by an enthusiasm which the Coreish were unable to withstand.

Mahomet incites his followers

What part Mahomet himself took in the battle is
not clear. Some traditions represent him moving
along the ranks with a drawn sword. It is more
likely that he contented himself with inciting his
followers by the promise of Divine assistance, and
by holding out the prospect of Paradise to those
who fell 40. The spirit of Omeir, a lad of but sixteen

and Obeida with Otba; but the Secretary of Wackidi prefers the
account in the text.

Tradition rejoices in recording, perhaps inventing, instances of
faith or fanaticism leading to the inhuman disregard of the most
sacred ties of blood. Thus, when Otba challenged the army of
believers, his son, Abu Hodzeifa, arose to go forth against him;
but Mahomet told him to sit down. It is added that Abu Hodzeifa
aided Hamza in killing his father, giving him a cut with his sword.
But see below another tradition regarding the scene at the pit of
the slain, implying a better feeling on his part.

years, was kindled in him as he listened to the
Prophet1s words. Tradition delights to tell of the
ardour with which this stripling threw away a
handful of dates which he was eating.- "Is it
these," he exclaimed, "that hold me back from
Paradise? Verily I will taste no more of them,
until I meet my Lord!" With such words, he
drew his sword, and casting himself upon
enemy's ranks, soon obtained the fate he coveted.

The Moslem army puts the Coreish to flight

It was a stormy winter day. A piercing blast
swept across the valley. That, said Mahomet, is
Gabriel with a thousand angels flying as a whirlwind
against our foe. Another, and yet another blast:
it was Michael, and after him, Seraphil, each
with a like angelic troop 41. The battle raged. The
Prophet stooped down, and lifting a handful of
gravel, cast it towards the Coreish, crying aloud,-
Confusion seize their faces! The action was well
timed. The line of the Coreish began to waver.
Their movements were impeded by the heavy sands
on which they stood; and when the ranks gave
way, their numbers added to the confusion. The
Moslems followed eagerly on uieir retreating steps,
slaying or taking captive all that fell within their

as a portion of the booty of Badr. Wackidi, 99. But of course he
might have borrowed one for the occasion. Ali is reported to
have sald that no one fought more fiercely than Mahomet that
day; and that though they endeavoured to hold him back, none
ventured nearer the enemy's ranks. K. Wackidi, 102. But this is
far from being in accordance with the general tenor of tradition.

41 For fabulous additions, see Vol. i. p. lxiv.

page 107

reach. Retreat soon turned into an ignominious
flight. The Coreish, in their haste to escape, cast
away their armour and abandoned their beasts of
burden, with all their camp and equipage 42. Forty-nine were killed, and about the same number taken
prisoners 43. Mahomet lost only fourteen, of whom
eight were citizens of Medina, and six Refugees 44.

Slaughter of some of Mahomet's chief opponents. Abu Jahl.

Many of the principal men of the Coreish, and
some of Mahomet's bitterest opponents, were slain.
Chief amongst these was Aba Jahl. Muadz ibn
Amr brought him to the ground by a blow which Abu Jahl
cut his leg in two. Muadz, in his turn, was attacked by Ikrima, the son of Aba Jahl, and his arm
nearly severed from his shoulder. As the mutilated arm hanging by the skin impeded his action,
Muadz put his foot upon it, pulled it off, and went
on his way fighting. Such were the heroes of Badr.

42Wackidi, 90.

43 Their names are given. Wackidi, 109-151. The popular
number is seventy killed and seventy wounded; but the detail is
decisive in favour of the text The number Seventy has originated
in
the supposition of a correspondence between the fault of Mahomet
in taking (and not slaying) the prisoners of Badr, and the retributive
reverse at Ohod in the following year. Seventy Moslems
were killed at Obod: hence it is assumed that seventy Meccans
were taken prisoners at Badr.

44 Two more, at least, died of their wounds on their way home,
and an additional name is given by Wackidi, though it may be
only a variation. The graves of four of the Badr martyrs are
mid to be at Sayyar, a defile near the narrow part of the Safra
valley, and three at Dabba or Dobba, " below the fountain of Al
Mustajal." The tomb of Obeida is at Dzat Ijdal,
"in a narrow defile below the fountain of Al Jadwal." Wackidid, 145.

page 108

Abu Jahl was yet breathing when Abdallah, the
servant, of Mahomet, ran up, and cutting off his
head, carried it to his master. "The head or the
enemy of God!" exclaimed Mahomet ; ---- "God! there
is none other God but he!" - "There is no other!" responded
Abdallah, as he cast the bloody head at the
Prophet's feet. "it is more acceptable to me;" cried
Mahomet, "than the choicest camel in all Arabia."45
But there were others whose death caused no

45 Lit. A red Camel: see vol ii. p. ll for the same expression.

A conversation is described between Abdallah and Abu Jahl.
The former, on coming up, placed his foot on Abu Jahl's neck,
and cried, --- "Ha! Hath not God put thee to shame this day,
thou enemy of God?" - "Wherefore?" said the dying man; "I
only sought to inflict retaliation for the Hadhramite whom ye
killed. But tell me, how goes the day ?" - "With God and with
his Prophet," replied Abdallah. "Then;' said Abu Jahl, "Verily,
thou hast risen to a dangerous height, O thou Feeder of Sheep!"
The story proceeds as in the text. Wackidi, 84; Hishami, 228.

Muadz was aided in his attack on Abu Jahl by two Medina
men, the sons of Afra, and there is as usual a huge mass of discrepant
traditions as to which of them had the merit of slaying
"the Pharaoh of his people;" Wackidi sums up the evidence impartially, p. 85. These traditions are evidently, in great
measure,
apocryphal. Mahomet is said to have given orders for Abu Jahl's
body to be mutilated and disfigured.

Tradition (which, however, as before observed, is in this
respect to be cautiously received) represents Abu Jahl's family
as retaining a strong feeling against the slayer of Abu Jahl, ---
in other words, an anti-Mussulman feeling,- for some time.
Wackidi tells a curious story of a knot of persons at Medina one
day going to purchase ottar at a shop kept by Abu Jahl's mother.
In conversation, it turned out that the woman who wished to buy
was daughter of one of the slayers of Aba Jahl, -- whereupon, the
mother would sell her none. Wackidi, 84. Abu Jahl's proper
name was Abul Hakam, "Father of Wisdom" (vol. ii. p.109);

page 109

Ab ul Bokhtari, to whom Mahomet had desired quarter to be given, is slain

gratification to Mahomet.. Ab ul Bokhtari had
shown kindness to him, and was specially instrumental
in procuring the release of himself and
his followers from the residence of Abu Talib 46.
Mahomet, mindful of this favour, had commanded
that he should not be harmed. Ab ul Bokhtari
had a companion seated on his camel behind him.
A warrior, riding up, told him of the quarter given
by Mahomet; but, added he, "I cannot spare the
man behind thee." - " The women of Mecca;' Ab ul
Bokhtari exclaimed, "shall never say that I abandoned my comrade through love of life. Do thy
work upon us both." So they were killed 47.

Savage slaughter of some of the prisoners

After the battle was over, some of the prisoners
were cruelly murdered 48. The following incident

it was changed by the Moslems in contempt to Abu Jahl, "Father
of Folly."

46 Vol. ii. p.192.

47 Other accounts are given of this incident. See Wackidi, 75. Zaman is added to the number whom Mahomet desired to be
spared on account of similar kindness; but see above (p. 95) the
savage prayer regarding him, ascribed to Mahomet. Harith ibn
Amir was also, they say, in the same category. Others add,
Abbas, and indeed the whole of the descendants of Hashim.
Hishami, 225; Tabari, 288. But this looks like an Abasside
fabrication to support the veneration claimed for that family in
later days. A story is told of Abu Hodzeifa, who, when Mahomet
desired that Abbas should be spared, said, - "Are we to slay our
fathers, brothers, uncles, &c., and to spare Abbas? No, verily,
but I will slay him if I find him." Omar, as usual, threatens the
audacious disputer with his sword. Wackidi, 75.

48 Two other cases of prisoners slaughtered in cold blood, besides
the one in the text, will be found in Wackidi, pp.88 and 100:-
The first was Nowfal ibn Khuweilid. It is said that Ali had

page 110

will illustrate the savage spirit, already an element
of Mussulman fanaticism. Omeya ibn Khalf and
his son were unable to escape with the fugitive
Coreish; and, seeing Abd al Rahman pass, implored
that he would make them his prisoners. Abd al
Rahman, in remembrance of an ancient friendship,
cast away the plunder he was carrying, and making
both his prisoners, was proceeding with them to the
Moslem camp. As they passed, Bilal espied his old
enemy, -- for Omeya had used to persecute him 49 ;
and he screamed aloud, "Slay him. He is the head
of the Unbelievers. I am lost, I am lost, if he
survives!" From all sides, the infuriated soldiers
poured in upon the wretched captives; and Abd al
Rahman, finding resistance impossible, bade them
save their lives as best they could. Defence was
vain; and the two prisoners were immediately cut
to pieces 50.

overheard Mahomet praying for his death. So when he saw him
led off a prisoner, he fell upon hini and killed him. Mahomet
uttered a takbir of joy when told of it, and said that it had happened in answer to his prayer.

The other was Mabad ibn Wahb. Omar met one of his comrades carrying him off, and taunted him, - "Well, ye are beaten
now!" - "Nay, by Lat and Ozza!" said the prisoner. "Is that
the manner of speech for a captive Infidel towards a Believer?"
cried Omar, as he cut off the wretched man's head by one blow
of his scimitar.

49 Vol. ii. 129.

50 The whole transaction was so treacherous and savage, that
even the Moslems seem to have been in some small degree ashamed
of it, and to have tried to shift the blame from one to another. Wackidi, 79.

page 111

The botty gathered together

When the enemy had disappeared, the army of
Medina was for some time engaged in gathering the
spoil. Every man was allowed to retain the plunder
of those whom he had slain with his own hand 51.
The rest was thrown into a common stock. It consisted of one hundred and fifteen camels, fourteen
horses, a large store of leather, and much equipage
and armour 52. A diversity of opinion arose about
the distribution. Those who had hotly pursued the
enemy and exposed their lives in securing the spoil,
claimed the whole, or at the least a superior portion;

Contention about its division decided by revelation

while such as had remained hehind upon the field
of battle, for the safety of the Prophet and of the

51 There is some discrepancy here. One set of traditions state
that though it was proclaimed, during the battle, that each
soldier
would have the prisoners taken, and the spoil of those slain by
him, yet that this was retracted by the Revelation which follows
in the text; and that all were obliged to disgorge, and carry every
thing into the common stock. Others say that the gathering
extended only to the ordinary plunder, not taken by individual
valour; and this, besides being the conclusion of Wackidi, is
borne out by the fact, that the spoils of certain of the slain,
remained, and descended by inheritance in the families of the
heroes who had slain them; so much so, that the traditionists
used to inquire in what families the spoil was, in proof of who
was the slayer.

52 It is said that the Coreish were carrying the leather as merchandise; but this does not well agree with the rest of the story.
There were, however, among the spoil, leather beds or rugs.
Wackidi, 96. A beautiful red vestment is mentioned as a part of
the booty; it disappeared, and people began to say that the Prophet had taken it; whereon (according to some) Sura, iii. v.162
("It is not for a prophet to conceal booty," &c.) was revealed;
but
others attribute the verse to another occasion.

page 112

camp, urged that they had equally with the others
fulfilled the part assigned to them; and that duty,
not cowardice, having restrained them from the
pursuit, they were entitled to a full share of the
prey 53. The contention became so sharp that Mahomet was forced to interpose with a message from
Heaven, and to assume possession of the whole
booty. It was God who had given the victory, and
to God all the spoils belonged: -

"They ask thee concerning the Prey. SAY, the
Prey is God's and his Prophet's. Wherefore, fear
God, and dispose of the matter rightly among yourselves; and be obedient unto God and his Prophet,
if ye be true Believers;" and so on in the same
strain 54. Shortly alter, the following ordinance,
which the Mussulman law of prize recognizes to the
present day, was given forth - "And know that whatsoever thing ye plunder, verily one fifth thereof is
for God and the Prophet, and for him that is of kin
(unto the Prophet), and the Orphans, and the Poor,
and the Wayfarer-if ye be they that believe in
God, and in that which WE sent down to our
Servant on the day of Discrimination 55, the day on

53 Sale aptly illustrates the contention by the scene at the taking
of Ziklag. I. Sam. xxx. 20-25. "As his part is that goeth
down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the
stuff: they shall part alike;" was David's decision.

54 Sura, viii.

55 Alluding to tile verse quoted before. "Discrimination," or
Forcan, the same word which is often applied to the Coran, and
sometimes to the Old Testament

page 113

which the two armies met: and God is over all
things powerful."56

The spoil divided near Safra

In accordance with these commands, the booty
was gathered together on the field, and placed under
a special officer.57. The next day it was divided,
near Safra, in equal allotments, among the whole
army, after the royal fifth had been set apart. All
shared alike, excepting that the horsemen received
each two extra portions for their horses 58. To the
lot of every man fell a camel, with its gear; or two
unaccoutred camels; or a leathern couch, or some
such equivalent. Mahomet obtained the famous
camel of Abu Jahl, and a sword known by the
name of Dzul Ficar. The sword was selected by
him beyond his share, according to a custom which
allowed him, in virtue of the prophetic dignity, to
choose from the booty, before division, whatever
thing pleased him most.

The enemy's dead cast into a pit

The sun was now declining, so they hastily dug
a pit on the field of battle, and cast the enemy's

56 Sura, viii. 41. This verse is generally believed to have been
revealed at Safra, on the occasion of the division or the spoils
of Badr. But some hold that it was given forth not long after, in
reference to the affair of the Bani Cainucaa. The explanation of
the commentators will be found in Sale's Prel. Dis. Sec. vi. v.i.
p.171.

57 Abdalla ibn Kab, of the Mozeina tribe, - a man of Medina.
K. Wackidi, 101; Wackidi, 95. The division took place at Sayyar,
a defile by Safra.

58 Some make this privilege to have been conceded to the
cavalry, on a subsequent occasion; which is quite possible, as
there were only two horses on the Moslem side at Badr.

page 114

dead into it. Mahomet looked on, as the bodies
were brought up and cast in. Abu Bakr stood by,
and examining their features, called aloud their
names.

Colloquy of Mahomet with them

"Otba! Shaiba! Omeyya! Abu Jahl!"
exclaimed Mahomet, as one by one the corpses were,
without ceremony, cast into 'the common grave.
"Have ye now found that which your Lord promised you true? What my Lord promised me, that verily have I found to be true. Woe unto this
people! Ye have rejected me, your Prophet! Ye
cast me forth, and others gave me refuge; ye fought
against me, and others came to my help!" "O
Prophet!" said the by-standers, "dost thou speak
unto the dead!" "Yea, verily;' replied Mahomet,
"for they well know that the promise of their Lord
unto them hath fully come to pass."59

Abu Hodzeifa's grief for his father

At the moment when the corpse of Otba was tossed into the pit, a look of distress overcast the countenance of his son, Abu Hodzeifa. Mahomet
turned kindly to him, and said:-" Perhaps thou
art distressed for thy father's fate?" "Not so, O
Prophet of the Lord! I do not doubt the justice of
my father's fate; but I knew well his wise and generous heart, and I had trusted that the Lord would lead him to the faith. But now that I see him slain,

59
That a scene, something of the kind I have described, was actually enacted, seems tolerably certain, though I cannot vouch for
the words. It has been surrounded by a good deal of theatrical
embellishment. Several versions are given; one, that Mahomet's
followers overheard him holding this conversation with the dead
at midnight. Wackidi, 106, 107; Hishami, 229.

page 115

and my hope destroyed! ---- it is for that I grieve."
So the Prophet comforted Abu Hodzeifa, and blessed
him; and said, " It is well."60

Nadhr, a prisoner, put to death by Mahomet

The army of Medina, carrying with them their
dead and wounded, retired in the evening to the
valley of Otheil, several miles from Badr ;61 and
there Mahomet passed the night. It was at Otheil
that the cruel and vindictive spirit of Mahomet
towards his enemies first began to display itself.
The prisoners were brought up before him. As he
scrutinized each, his eye fell fiercely on Nadhr, the
son of Harith. "There was death in that glance,"
whispered Nadhr, trembling, to a by-stander. "Not
so," replied the other; "it is but thine own imagination."

60Wackidi, 106; 11irlt6m4 230; Tabari, 294. See, on the other hand, the tradition given above (p. 105) of Abu Hodzeifa's
starting up to go forth to fight with hi. father. Tradition
gloats over such savage passages; it is all the more pleasing to
light upon an out-burst of natural affection like that in the
text.

61 "After the spoil wits gathered, Mahomet prayed the mid-day
prayer, and rested. Then he marched and entered the valley of
Otheil; now Otheil is a valley three (Arabian) miles in length,
commencing two miles from Badr. Mahomet arrived there at sunset,
and passed the night in it, four miles from Badr. "I have given a
tradition above that four of the martyrs were buried at Sayyar,
and three at Dobba. Wackidi, 143. Where the rest were buried, I
have not been able to trace. Burckhardt makes the tombs to be on
the field of Badr. ---- "To the south of the town, about one mile
distant, at the foot of the hills, are the tombs of the thirteen
followers and friends of the Prophet, who fell by his side.
They are mere heaps of earth, enclosed by a row of loose
stones, and are all close together. The Kureish, as our guide
explained to us, were posted on the hill behind the tombs," &C
p. 406. But Burckliardt's information about the battle is not
accurate. He speaks of All, with his "party of horsemen."

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The unfortunate prisoner thought otherwise,
and besought Musab to intercede for him. MusM)
reminded him that he had denied the faith and
persecuted the believers. "Ah!" said Nadhr, "had
the Coreish made thee a prisoner, they would never
have put thee to death!" "Even were it so," Musab
scornfully replied, "I am not as thou art; Islam
hath rent all bonds asunder." Micdad, the captor,
seeing that the captive, and with him the chance
of a rich ransom, was about to slip from his hands,
cried out, "The prisoner is mine"! At this moment,
the command to "strike off his head!" was interposed
by Mahomet, who had been watching all
that passed.-" And, O Lord!" he added, "do
thou of thy bounty grant unto Micdad a better
prey than this?' Nadhr was forthwith beheaded
by Ali.62

Otba, another prisoner, executed

Two days afterwards, about half-way to Medina,
Ocba, another prisoner, was ordered out for execution 63. He ventured to expostulate, and demand
why he should be treated more vigorously than the
other captives. "Because of thy enmity to God
and to his Prophet," replied Mahomet. "And my

62Wackidi, 101. Hishami makes tile execution take place at Safra, p.251; Tabari, 297. The phrase Strike his
neck, is always used for beheading. The executioner, by a dexterous stroke of the sword on the back of the neck, generally severs the head at one blow. It is still the mode of capital
punishment in Mahometan countries.

63Wackidi, 108. It occurred at Arc al Tzobia, which is on
the Medina side of Safra, two Arabian miles from Rooha, on the
S.E. of the Road. Wackidi, 34; Hishami, 232.

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little girl!" cried Ocba, in the bitterness of his soul,
"who will take care of her? " - " Hell-fire!" exclaimed
the heartless conqueror; and on the instant
his victim was hewn to the ground. "Wretch that
he was!" continued Mahomet, "and persecutor!
Unbeliever in God, in his Prophet, and in his Book!
I give thanks unto the Lord that hath slain thee,
and comforted mine eyes thereby."

Traditions as to Mahomet's being reprimanded for saving any prisoners alive

It would even Seem to have been contemplated at
the close of the battle to kill all the prisoners
Mahomet is represented by tradition as himself directing this course 64. Abu Bakr, always on the side
of mercy, pleaded for them. Omar, the personification of stern justice, urged Mahomet vehemently to
put all to death. Gabriel upon this brought a message from Heaven, leaving it at the Prophet's option
either to slay all the captives or demand a ransom
for them; but to the latter alternative was annexed

64 Thus Mahomet said:" Tell not Said of his brother's death"
(Mabad, a prisoner, see above p.110 note); "but kill ye every
man his prisoner." Wackidi, 100. Again: "Take not any man
his brother prisoner, but rather kill him." p.101. 1 would
not, however, lay too much stress on these traditions. I am
inclined rather to view them as called into existence by the
passage quoted below from the Coran.

Mahomet likened Abu Bakr to Michael, Abraham, and Jesus,
all advocates of mercy; and Omar to Gabriel, Noah, and Moses,
the ministers of justice. Wackidi, 103. He added that if the
sin of Badr in sparing the prisoners had been punished rigorously, none would have escaped but Omar and Sad ibn Muadz
(another sanguinary believer, as we shall have full proof below),
who both urged the slaughter of all the prisoners. Wackidi, 104;
Tabari, 318--320.

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the condition, that an equal number of the Believers
should be killed in battle the ensuing year 65. Mahomet consulted his followers; and they said: "Let
us save the prisoners alive, and take their ransom;
hereafter, thay that are killed in lieu thereof will
inherit Paradise and the crown of martyrdom;"
- which counsel was adopted. These traditions
embody the popular Mussulman belief on the subject.

Passsage from the Coran on the subject

But the only mention of it in the Coran is the
following verse; which, though produced by Mahomet
rather to justify the slaughter of the six
prisoners put to death by himself and his followers,
and to gain the character of having, with reference
to his divine commission, erred on the side of mercy,
may have given rise to all this mass of fiction : -

"It is not for a Prophet to take prisoners until he hath inflicted a grievous wound upon his enemies on the Earth. Ye
seek after tile good things of this Life; but God seeketh after
the
Life to come; and God is Glorious and Wise. Unless an order 66
from the Lord had interposed, surely a grievous punishment had
overtaken you. Now, therefore, of tile spoil which ye have
taken, eat that which is lawful and desirable; and fear God, for
God is Gracious and Merciful.

"O thou Prophet I say unto tile Prisoners in dime hands,- if
God knoweth any thing in your hearts which is good, he will give
unto you better than that which is taken from you 67; and he will

65 "Which came to pass at Ohod." Wackidi, 102.

66 Lit "a Writing."- Kitab. Abdoolcader translates in Urdu
thus: - "Had this not been written in God's decrees," viz. that
many of the captives would be converted to Islam. Others
make it refer to previous passages, authorizing the taking of
prey.
It may simply mean, - "Had there not been a previous decree
to the contrary, a grievous punishment had overtaken you," &C.

67i.e. Liberty or Ransom.

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forgive you, for the Lord is Forgiving and Merciful But if they
seek to act unfaithfully towards thee 68 -- verily they have acted
unfaithfully towards God already, and God is Knowing and
Wise."69

Mahomet hopes to convert the remaining prisoners

It will be remarked that Mahomet already contemplates the possibility of converting
the remaining to his cause; and in some instances, as we shall see, he was successful.

Tidings of the victory made known in Medina

From Otheil, Mahomet had despatched Zeid and
Abdallah ibn Rowaha, the poet, to make known
his victory at Medina. From the valley of Ackick,
Abdallah struck off to the right, and spread the good
tidings throughout Coba and Upper Medina. Zeid,
mounted on Al Caswa, proceeded straight to the
city. The enemies of Mahomet, seeing his favourite
camel approach without her master, prognosticated
that he had been slain. But they were soon undeceived and crestfallen 70; for Zeid, stopping at the

68 This is explained to mean "deceit in not paying the ransom
agreed upon;" but it seems an unlikely interpretation, as the
ransom was ordinarily paid down on the spot It may be a
significant intimation that those who came over to Islam
would be released without ransom; - the deceit contemplated
being a treacherous confession of faith followed by desertion
to Mecca.

69 vii 70-74.

70 The Jews, and their adherents from amongst the disaffected
families of Medina, are represented as casting in the teeth of
the
Believers that their Prophet was dead, and jeering at them; but
it is not likely that it was yet known at Medina (as these traditions imply) that an army had marched from Mecca. Mahomet
himself only knew this on the Thursday night, and these messengers having left shortly after the battle, and travelled
rapidly,
would bring thp first intelligence of it. The impression at Medina

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place of prayer, near the entrance of the city,
cried aloud that the Coreish had been overthrown;
and then enumerated by name the chief men of
Mecca who had been slain or taken prisoners. The
joy of the Prophet's adherents was unbounded; and
as the news ran from door to door, even the little
children caused the streets to resound with the cry,
Abu Jahl, the sinner, is slain!

Mahomet's return; death of his daughter Rockeya

The next day, Mahomet himself arrived. His
gladness was damped by finding that his daughter
Rockeya had died and been buried during his absence.
They had just smoothed the earth over her
tomb in the graveyard of Backi, as Zeid entered
Medina. Othman had watched tenderly over her
death-bed; and Mahomet sought to solace him, by
uniting him in marriage, a few months later, to lils
remaining single daughter, Omm Koltham. Like
Rockeya, she had been married to a cousin, the son
of Abu Lahab, but had for some time been separated from him 71. She died a year or two before

could only have been that a conflict had occurred between Mahomet
and the convoy of the caravan - not so dangerous an affair
as to justify the following kind of speech (which is anyhow improbable in itself) : -"Here cometh Zeid! His comrades have been
aspersed, and will never again rally. Mahomet hath been killed,
for this is his camel. Zeid is so terrified by his flight that be
talketh madly," &C Zeid's son, Osama, is represented as threatening to strike off the head of one who taunted him in this way.

We must be on our guard as to the manner in which the Jews
and Unbelievers of Medina are treated by tradition, almost as
much as against the way in which the Unbelievers of Mecca are
spoken of. Wackidi, 109.

71 See vol. ii. p.46. Mahomet affianced her in marriage in

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Mahomet, who used, after her death, to say he so
dearly loved Othman, that had there been a third
daughter, he would have given her also in marriage
to him 72.

The prisoners brought into Medina

In the evening, the prisoners were brought in 73.
Sauda had gone out to join in lamentation with
the family of Afra, a citizen, who lost two sons at
Badr. On her return, she found, standing by her
house, Suheil, one of the prisoners, with his hands
tied behind his neck 74. Surprised at the sight, she
offered to loose his hands, when she was startled by
the voice of Mahomet, calling loudly from within
"By the Lord and his Prophet! O Sauda, what
art thou about to do?" She replied that she had
addressed Suheil from an involuntary impulse. Yet
Mahomet was far from intending to treat the prisoners whose lives he had spared with harshness.

Rabi, the first of the third year or the Hegira; and the marriage
was celebrated a couple of months later, i.e. in the second
Jumad, or eight months after the battle of Badr. Tabari, 84.

72K. Wackidi, 189.

73Wackidi, 113. Other authorities say that they arrived a
day before Mahomet.

74Wackidi, 112. Perhaps greater stringency was used in his
restraint, as he broke from his bonds on the road, and had nearly
escaped. Mahomet gave orders to chase and kill him. Coming
up with him himself, he spared his life, but bound his hands
behind
his neck, and tied him to his camel. Usama met Mahomet entering Medina with Suheil in this condition, and exclaimed, -
"What! Abu Yazid!" (Suheil's name). "Yes," said Mahomet,
"it is the same,- the Chief who used to feed the people with
bread at Mecca." Wackidi, 111.

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He rather hoped, by a kind and courteous demeanour,
to win. their affections and draw them
over to the Faith. Omm Salma was, with the
other women from Mecca, lamenting at the house
of Afra, when she was told that some of the
prisoners had been brought to her house. She
first proceeded to Mahomet, whom she found in
the apartment of Ayesha, and thus addressed
him: "O Prophet! my uncles sons desire that I
should entertain certain of the prisoners, that I
should anoint their heads, and comb their dishevelled hair; but I did not venture to do so until
I had first obtained thine orders." Mahomet replied that he did not at all object to these marks
of hospitality, and desired her to do as she had
intended.75

They are treated kindly

In pursuance of Mahomet's commands, the
citizens of Medina, and such of the Refugees as
possessed houses, received the prisoners, and treated
them with much consideration. "Blessings be on
the men of Medina!" said one of these prisoners in
later days; "they made us ride, while they themselves walked: they gave us wheaten bread to eat
when there was little of it, contenting themselves
with dates." It is not surprising that when, some
time after, their friends came to ransom them, several

75Wackidi, 111. Tabari, 298. For Omm Salma, see vol. ii. 106. One or two years after on her husband's death, Mahomet married
this lady.

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of the prisoners who had been thus received declared themselves adherents of Islam; and to such
the Prophet granted liberty, without the usual payment.76 It was long before the Coreish could reconcile themselves to the humiliation of visiting
Aledina to arrange for the liberation of their relatives. Their tender treatment was thus prolonged,
and left a favourable impression on the minds even
of those who did not at once go over to Islam.

And ransomed from Mecca

Eventually, the army of Bafir was enriched by the
large payments made for the prisoners; for they
were redeemed according to their several means, -
some paying a thousand, and others as much as
four thousand dirhems. Such as had nothing to
pay, were liberated without ransom; but a service
was first required of them, which shows how far
Mecca was in advance of Medina in learning. To
each prisoner were allotted ten boys, who were
to be taught the art of writing; and their tuition,
when completed, was accepted as a full ransom.77

The victory divine declaration in favour of Islam

The battle of Badr was one of the critical points
in the life of Mahomet. However skilful in turning
the incident of the day, whether favourable or not,

76 See two instances at pp.136, 187 of Wackidi. In one of
these cues the conversion was probably hastened by the mortification of the prisoner Walid, grandson of Mughira, at finding his brother haggling about the price demanded. It is curious to
trace the various motives which inclined men towards Islam.

77 K. Wackidi, 101 ½. Zeid ibn Thabit, the poet, is said to have learned writing in this way. C. de Perceval, iii. 74.

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into a proof of the Divine interposition for the.
furtherance of Islam, the Prophet would have found
it difficult on the present occasion to maintain his
position at Medina in the face of any reverse. The
victory now supplied him with new and cogent
arguments. He did not hesitate to ascribe the
entire success to the miraculous assistance of God;
and this was the easier, in consequence of the
superior numbers of the Coreish. I have already
quoted some passages from the Coran to this effect.

Angelic auxiliaries

The presence of an Angelic host, a thousand strong,
actively engaged against the enemy, was gravely
asserted by the Prophet, who pretended to have
received the following revelation on the subject: -

"When ye sought assistance from your Lord; and he answered,
Verily, I will assist you with a thousand Angel:, following one
upon another; -this the Lord did as good tidings for you,
and that your heart: might be thereby reassured. As for
victory, it is from none other than God: for God is Glorious and
Wise 78.

And about a year after, or perhaps later:--

"Verily there hath been given unto you a Sign in the two
Armies which fought One Army fought in the way of God.
The other was unbelieving, and saw their enemy double of themselves by the sight of the eye. And God strengtheneth with his
aid whom he pleaseth. Verily, therein is a lesson unto the discerning people."79

"And ye slew them not, but God slew them. And, thou (O
Prophet) didst not cast (the gravel); but God cast it; that he
might prove the believers by a gracious probation from himself
Verily, God heareth and knoweth.

78 Sura, viii. 9, 10.

79 Sura, iii. 18.

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"It was even so. And God weakeneth the devices of the Infidels.

"If ye desire a Decision, truly the Decision 80 hath already come
unto you. If ye hold back, it will be better for you; but if ye
return, WE also shall return. And your troops will not avail you
anything, even though they be many in number; for surely God
is with the Believers."81

The Devil forced to abandon the Coreish

Furthermore, not only was Divine aid afforded to
the army of Medina, but the help which Satan had
designed for the army of Mecca was signally frustrated: -

"Be not like those who went forth from their habitations vaingloriously and to be seen of men, and turned aside from the way
of God: and God compasseth about that which they do.

"And (remember) when Satan bedecked their works for them,
and said,- None shalt prevail this day against you; for I verily am
your Confederate. But when the two Armies came within sight
of each other, he turned back upon his heels, and said,- Verily I
am clear of you. Truly I see that which ye do not see. I fear
God, for God is Terrible in vengeance."82

80"Al Fath;" signifying either Decision or Victory.

81 Sura, viii. 16-18.

82Ibid. 49, 50. As may be imagined, these passages have
given rise to endless legends. The Devil, as usual, was in the
form of Suraca. This man was seen running away from the field
of battle, and was taxed with it by the Coreish - while all the.
time it was the Devil! We have gravely given to us the circumstantial evidence of a witness regarding the Devil's behaviour,
his jumping into the sea, what he said on that occasion, &c.
Wackidi, 69, 70. As to the angels, we have pages filled with
accounts of them ; - such as that one of the enemy suddenly
perceived a tall white figure in the air, mounted on a piebald horse: this angel having bound him, left him on the spot a
prisoner; and this was the cause of his conversion. But it would
be endless and unprofitable to multiply such tales. Wackidi, 70 to 76.

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Mahomet now stands or falls by his success in the field

The cause of Mahomet, it was now distinctly
admitted, must stand or fall by the result of the
armed struggle, on which he had fairly entered,
with his native city. It was, no doubt, difficult
and dangerous ground for a fallible mortal to stand
upon; but the die was cast, and the battle must
be fought out to the death. The scabbard having
been thrown away, little additional risk was incurred by the founder of Islam when he made
success in arms the criterion of his prophetical
claim. His position, however otherwise strong,
could not be maintained in the face of defeat;
however weak, a succession of victories would
establish it triumphantly.

Number of chief Coreish killed at Badr

There was much in the battle of Badr which
Mahomet could plausibly represent as a special
interposition of the Deity in his behalf. Not only
was a most decisive victory gained over a force
three times his own in number, but the slain on
the enemy's side included, in a most remarkable
manner, many of his influential opponents.83 In
addition to the chief men killed or made prisoners,

83 The following is the long list of men of mark who were either
killed or taken captive: -

Aba Lahab, who was not present in the battle, died
a few days after the return of the fugitive army,--
as if the decree marking out the enemies of the
Prophet was certain and inevitable.84

Consternation and thirst for revenge at Mecca

At Mecca itself, the news of the defeat was received with consternation. Shame and a burning
desire for revenge stifled the, expression of grief.
"Weep not for your slain;" such was the counsel of
Abu Sofian. "Bewail not their loss; neither let
the bard mourn for them. Show that ye are men
and heroes! If ye Wail and lament, and mourn over
them with elegies, it will ease your wrath and
diminish your enmity towards Mahomet and his
fellows. Moreover, if that reach our enemies ears,
and they laugh at us, will not their scorn be the
severest calamity of all? Perchance ye may yet
obtain your revenge. As for me, I will touch no
oil, neither approach any woman, until I go forth to
war against Mahomet." It was the same savage
pride which so long prevented their sending to
Medina for the ransom of their captive kinsmen85.

84 Abasside traditions add that his death was caused by malignant and infectious ulcers; that he remained two days unburied,
as no one would approach the offensive corpse; that be was not
washed, but that water was cast from a distance on his body,
which was then raised, and cast into a well in Upper Mecca, and
stones heaped over the well. Tabari, 302. The bias is palpable.

85 The first that went was Al Muttalib, who, being weary of
the delay made by the Coreish, set off covertly to ransom his

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Wailing for the dead

A month elapsed thus; and they could refrain no longer. The wild demonstrations of Asiatic grief
burst forth at last from the whole city. In almost
every house there were cries and wailing for the
captive or the dead. And this lasted an entire
month.86 There was one exception - "Why
sheddest thou no tears; said they to Hind, the
wife of Abu Sofian. "Why weep not for thy father

father, Abu Wadaa. The Coreish abused him on his return,-
Abu Sofian saying that he would not send to ransom his own son
Amr, even if Mahomet kept him for a whole year. Amr was
eventually exchanged by Mahomet for one of his followers who,
having incautiously gone to Mecca on the Lesser Pilgrimage, was
there arrested. Wackidi, 118, 125, 134; Tabari, 307.

86 A plaintive illustration of the force of pent-up grief is given
by Wackidi (p. 217) with all the pathos of Arab feeling. The
blind and aged Aswad had lost two sons and a grandson in the
battle. Like the rest of the Coreish, he sternly repressed his
grief; but as day. rolled on, he longed to give vent to his
feelings.
One night he heard the wild notes of a female wailing, and he
said to his servant: "Go see! it may be that the Coreish have
begun to wail for their dead: perchance, I too, may wail for
Zamba, my son; for grief consumeth me within." The servant
returned, saying, that it was but the voice of a woman lamenting
for her strayed camel. On this the old man gave way to a burst
of beautiful and impassioned poetry. "Doth she weep for her
camel, and for it banish sleep from her eyes? Nay, if ye will
weep, let us weep over Badr: - Weep for Ockeil, and Harith, the
lion of lions!" &C:-

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Otba, for thy brother, and thine uncle?" "Nay,"
replied Hind, "I will not weep until ye again wage
war with Mahomet and his fellows. If weeping
would wash away grief from my heart, I would
weep even as ye; but it is not thus." To mark her
sullen sorrow, she foreswore to use oil for her hair,
or to go near the bed of Abu Sofian, until an army
should march forth against Medina.87

87Wackidi 117; Tabari, 808. Hind (as we shall see) is represented as a Fury at the battle of Ohod; but the tendency of
tradition is to overdraw her rancour. The traditionists always
needed a foil of this sort. Abu Jahl, and others of his stamp,
were gone. Hind, and, in a less degree, her husband Abu
Sofian, take their place.